Well, I thought I would post this, as its a little 'bugbear' of mine so-to-speak.
I would like to know how many have been told to check?
Or witnessed it in practice?
If so, what are the reasons given for this if labour is progressing, head is descending, no abnormal heart sounds etc..
Also I just wondered what they teach in uni?

Personally, I don't check for a cord, I have been told to and refused, and simply ask "Why?"
If I saw a baby begin to 'turtle neck' (i.e. sign of Shoulder Dystocia, or struggling to be born etc..) then I would follow intuition dependant upon ?size of baby, of heart sounds, perhaps indicating there is a cord round the neck...
But... if there is, do you clamp and cut??? (please say no!), or do you attempt the somersault manoevre and try to deliver the baby, whilst keeping the head at the perineum as the shoulders deliver then proceed to unravel the cord, or if not, and its not too tight, and not a very short cord, then I simply deliver the baby through the cord.

At the end of the day-it hurts women, its already burning and stinging down there like mad, I do not want to cause any harm..

Thoughts ..............

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I wish I could provide a good knowledgeable answer to this, but I can't. So I will wait with interest and hopefully learn something lol.

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Student Midwife 2007

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one mentor i have regularly does check (A), and one i have doesn't (B). Actually, they are completely different midwives, and I find myself getting a bit confused sometimes! I'm trying to take a bit from each and work out where i stand on all these hot topics.
I have never seen A cut and clamp a cord, but have felt for cord when with her and slipped it over
when let to my own devices, have never checked for a cord, and thankfully never seen the dreaded turtle neck either!!
x

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Wholeheartedly agree with you there Tracy. I was told to check cord in my first year by an old school midwife and not knowing any better did it! However, when working with my proper mentor, I was checking for it and she questioned me and taught me the 'why's of not doing it'. Now I would not check at all.

Some midwives think that I am checking for cord when I feel to make sure babes chin has delivered ok, but that's because they can't really see what I am doing and it makes them panic.

KS

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Haha yeah, or I've said yes I have just to get them off my back, I've seen women wince in pain when the midwives do it, so it has taught me well x

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I don't check for nuchal cords - since a woman I was chatting to on the PN ward likened it to 'having knitting needles stuck in you down there' Youch! You kind of know from auscultation of the fetal heart if there will be a tightish cord anyway.

I tend to unloop the cord if it can be slipped over baby's head once it becomes visible, or to just somersault the baby out - by pressing the head towards mum's thigh as the body starts to deliver. I have had to clamp and cut a cord on the perineum once - I always said I would never do it, but this baby wasn't going to come any other way. He was a big boy, and I made sure I had a second midwife (as well as a very scared student) in the room at the time in case of problems - but he slipped out fine .

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Phew, yes I've done the somersault manoevre too, it works well doesn't it? The midwife asked me what on earth it was all about when I had done it, I think she thought I'd forgotten what to do once the head was out!!!

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What is a nuchal cord please? I have heard of it, but no idea what it is.

Another for the glossary me thinks.

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Cord around the neck x

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Ahh, quite easy when you know lol.

Thank you. I have added it to the glossary so it will up when people type it in after it has had the definition done etc. x

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